Wednesday, May 02, 2012

From Westminster to the World of Warcraft by Kevin Dayhoff

May 2, 2012



Last Monday, Greg Street, a 1991 McDaniel College graduate and the lead systems designer of World of Warcraft, shared his reality of how he journeyed from Texas to Westminster, and then South Carolina to California and Northrend, the crescent-shaped continent in northern Azeroth, in the virtual reality world of gamers.

For Dr. Street, it has been a long, strange, and wonderful trip from Westminster to the Mists of Pandaria.

The audience that gathered at Decker Center Forum on the Westminster college campus was an eclectic combination and – yes, one-third of the audience were hard-core gamers – who know Dr. Street by his screen name “Ghostcrawler” on gamer message boards, where he is a constant presence in search of feedback on the World of Warcraft.

The World of Warcraft was first released in 1994 as “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.” The popular computer game currently enjoys a worldwide audience of 10.2 million subscribers as of December 2011… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5077

Related - - McDaniel College – Greg Street SmartTALK links and notes:


Wednesday, May 2, 2012 From Westminster to the World of Warcraft Kevin E. Dayhoff: Last Monday, Greg Street, a 1991 McDaniel College graduate and the lead systems designer of World of Warcraft, shared his reality of how he journeyed from Texas to Westminster, and then South Carolina to California and Northrend, the crescent-shaped continent in northern Azeroth, in the virtual reality world of gamers… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5077




World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/mists-of-pandaria/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ZX_S3STTQ The media duo of Judy Woodruff, of the PBS NewsHour, and her husband Al Hunt, of Bloomberg News, also visited McDaniel College for a program entitled “Conversation with Washington Insiders,” on April 15.




McDaniel College website - World of Warcraft video-game designer to speak April 30: http://www.mcdaniel.edu/12074.htm “World of Warcraft video-game designer to speak April 30” Monday, April 16, 2012 - -
“World of Warcraft master systems designer Greg Street, class of 1991, talks about how his liberal arts education at McDaniel helped him become a video game designer at 7 p.m. April 30 during SmartTALK with president Roger Casey in Decker Center Forum.
“Street currently works as a master systems designer at Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, Calif. He graduated from McDaniel with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Philosophy in 1991 and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of Texas at Austin. He worked as a marine biologist before moving into the game design field.
“The hour-long event, which is free and open to the public, includes questions and answers from the audience.
“McDaniel College’s SmartTALK brings notable alumni back to campus for an on-stage conversation with president Roger Casey on their subject of expertise. Past SmartTALK presenters have included Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wendy Ruderman, career foreign-service diplomat Tom Armbruster, National Marine Fisheries Service director Eric Schwaab, National Teacher of the Year Michelle Shearer, champion of the environment Gerald W. Winegrad, and, senior vice-president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Bernard Franklin.”


Inside Mac Games - Interview: Ensemble's Greg Street November 20, 2006 | Michael Phillips http://www.insidemacgames.com/features/view.php?ID=488&Page=1: “Games don't just appear out of thin air. Games are created by teams of designers and programers toiling in small underground vaults, unaware of the world above. At least, that's the information to which I'm privy. At any rate, games do require designers and Age of Empires III is no exception. Recently, I had the chance to chat with Greg Street, leader of the design team at Ensemble Studios that created Age of Empires III, about his role at Ensemble, what gamers can expect from this latest generation of the Age of Empires series and other industry related topics of interest. This is a good read, trust me…”

From the Miami Herald: Miami-Dade Public Schools will open its first video-game-themed magnet program this fall, with the goal of teaching students how to design and program video games, the Miami Herald reported on Monday.
The iTech Academy at Miami Springs Senior High School has 125 spots for the freshman class.
“We’re going to be a school that produces not only games, but apps. It’s part of my vision,” Principal Anna Rodriguez was quoted as saying. “I can see our students building holograms. I can really see it.”
According to the newspaper, the focus on design and coding reflects state and national efforts to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Proponents of video-game programs say they prepare students for jobs in the 21st century.
In 2010-11, Florida had about 3,300 students enrolled in game, simulation and animation courses, the Herald reported… http://cnsnews.com/news/article/floridas-new-video-game-magnet-school-now-accepting-applications

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